The Scent of Strawberries
by pomegranate-stars
Summary: '"I love you." The words slipped out of my mouth without so much as a second thought, and inwardly, I cringed.' A romantic oneshot in André's POV during and after the end of "The Great Ping-Pong Scam". Tandré.


**Hey, all. This is my first time writing for these characters of what is rapidly becoming a favorite show of mine. I really enjoy all the music on the show, and the writing's not bad either. :) Anyway, ever since I first started watching, I've been a fan of Tori/André, and this oneshot was born out of the end of "The Great Ping-Pong Scam". I hope you enjoy it!**

_Title: The Scent of Strawberries_

_Pairings: Tandre (Tori/André_)_, Slight established Bade (Beck/Jade)_

_Episode Tags: 1x11 "The Great Ping-Pong Scam"_

_Spoilers: "The Great Ping-Pong Scam"_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious, or any of its affiliates.**

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The Scent of Strawberries

Well, that's that, then. The end of "The Great Ping-Pong Scam", as the incident would later come to be known. We were sitting in the middle of a restaurant so fancy, most of us usually couldn't even afford to look at the place, let alone eat there. Everything was going great; I was in a fancy-pants restaurant, eating fancy-pants food with my absolute best friends in the world. Well, my best friends and Jade. But even Jade was being relatively well-behaved. Then it all came crashing down when Robbie ordered an extra six hundred bucks worth of caviar that none of us had the money for.

So there we were, sitting in our fancy dress-up get-ups with the threat of the police hanging over our heads, when this guy comes running up to the manager and starts going off on him about the lack of live music, something this restaurant was supposed to be famous for.

While they argued I took the opportunity to shoot a look at Beck. He looked worried, biting his lower lip. He glanced at me and shrugged. I glanced at Jade, who was ignoring everyone and eating again. Robbie was looking appropriately morose, Rex slumped on the table in front of him. Cat looked from manager to guy (who I assume was the owner), her brow creased. And then my gaze slid to Tori. Tori, who despite being dressed in a ping-pong uniform, still managed to look completely stunning. Tori, my absolute best friend in the world. Tori, the girl I was slowly and helplessly falling for as each day went by.

She was staring at the owner, a look of sudden inspiration on her face. She jumped up from the table and put her hands on her hips. "I think I may know a way to solve both our problems here." She said with a grin. That got everyone's attention on her. Well, everyone but Jade, who was still ignoring the situation and finishing whatever was left on her plate. Tori lunged around the table. "Give me your dress!" Jade stared at her, shock written all over her face.

"Wha…?"

Tori looked up and her eyes met mine. "André! Tell me that you love me!"

My heart leapt into my throat. "Say, what now?" My voice came out in a rather unmanly squeak.

Tori looked confused. "Tell me that you love me." She said again.

"I love you." The words slipped out of my mouth without so much as a second thought, and inwardly, I cringed.

Everyone at the table looked at me with raised eyebrows.

"No, André, the song!" Tori looked impatient. "Our song! You play, and I'll sing! That way, the restaurant gets their live music, and we could work off our dinner tab." She looked up at the manager. "As long as that's alright with you."

The manager and the owner exchanged glances. The owner shrugged. "Sounds good to me."

"I guess. We're running out of free deserts." The manager looked Tori and me over. "Are you guys any good?" He asked suspiciously.

"We go to Hollywood Arts!" Cat piped up.

"They're _really_ good." Beck informed him.

The owner visibly relaxed. "Alright." He said. "I'll give you guys a chance."

"Great!" Tori clapped her hands together. "Now." She turned back to Jade. "Give me your dress.

Jade swallowed her food. "This dress?" She asked, disbelief all over her face.

"Well, I can't very well go up there and sing dressed like this!"

"You should have thought of that before you came!"

"Jade, you were supposed to remind me and you didn't, now give me the dress so we don't get arrested!"

Now that the attention was firmly off of me, I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding and glared at Beck, who had this stupid sneaky little grin all over his face.

"Ok, I'm gonna go… swap clothes with Tori. Ew." Jade shuddered, and Tori ushered her towards the bathrooms.

As soon as they were gone, Beck grinned at me. I glared at him. "What?"

"You like Tori."

"Well, duh, silly!" Cat sipped her beverage, apparently a lot calmer now that the situation was being taken care of. "He just told her he loved her."

I felt my face get hot. "Oh, come on, guys, lay off."

Beck nudged me. "Admit it then."

"He already did!" Cat was now picking at something in her teeth. "Just now, weren't you listening?"

"Oh, I was listening."

"André's got a cru-ush, André's got a cru-ush." Rex sang. I glared at the puppet.

"Not helping, Rex!" Robbie scolded.

"Guys, seriously, I do not…"

"André!" I turned around to find Tori and Jade standing behind me. Jade looked sour and plopped angrily down next to Beck, dressed in Tori's ping-pong jersey. And Tori… wow. I mean, wow. I'm pretty sure that every guy in the whole place was staring at her. She looked stunning; let me tell you, Jade's dress hugged in _all_ the right places. My face got hot again.

"Ready?" She asked, smiling happily.

I tried to answer her, but my voice wasn't working, so I just nodded. Maybe it was the fanciness of the place, maybe the fact that we were both dressed up, whatever. What matters is that I held out my elbow to her with a nervous grin. She grinned back and, taking my arm regally, allowed me to lead her up towards the piano.

Meanwhile, the owner of the place had gotten up in front of the microphone and was apologizing to the crowd.

"… and now, here they are, two Hollywood Arts students, Tori Vega and André Harris performing an original song, "Tell Me That You Love Me!"

I took my place on the piano bench as the welcoming applause died down. I took a deep breath and instantly felt my body relax as the world melted away. It was just me and the keyboard. I lightly rested my fingers on the keys and glanced at Tori to check if she was ready.

She was leaning on the piano, microphone in hand. She nodded and I played the opening chord. Now, we hadn't actually performed this song in front of anyone before… But for some reason, I wasn't worried about it. I was singing and playing with the girl of my dreams. Nothing could possibly ruin this moment.

She was leaning on the piano, singing low and sultry. Then she was off, dancing and strutting about the stage, pouring her heart into the song. Into the chorus she was up sitting on the piano, her impossibly long legs crossed, beaming at me. I heard Cat and Robbie cheering from the dining floor and grinned involuntarily. I went into the next verse with gusto, occasionally adding my own line of harmony to Tori's impeccable voice. Really, how was this girl related to Trina?

Tori walked gracefully off the stage and into the dining room, smiling and twirling as she sang for the people. I almost laughed out loud when she tossed the owner's tie around. _Damn._ I thought to myself. _I have it bad. _Then suddenly she was back, up laying on the piano, singing to me. I looked up at her and almost hit a wrong note.

"_I can hear what you say…"_

Her eyes were mesmerizing and I sang my harmony line of the song to her.

"_I know we can make it… Tell me that you love me!"_

If only she knew just how badly I wanted her to take those words seriously.

Tori sat back up and the waiter helped her down from the piano as we continued the chorus. Tori drifted out of my line of sight again and I had to physically stop myself from turning around to watch her. Suddenly, there she was again, behind me, her arm on my shoulder, her body against mine, and her voice in my ear. She smelled like that strawberry shampoo she used. This time I really did hit a wrong note on the piano. Luckily, it still sounded ok.

I was in heaven. The café drifted away and it was just me and Tori, singing a happy love song together. Tori's arm slipped off my shoulder as she hit a particularly intense note sequence. She turned back to me and I suddenly knew what she wanted to do. I stood up slightly and she used my shoulder for balance as she climbed back onto the piano, sitting with her legs crossed over an octave below middle C. She leaned down and looked directly into my eyes.

"_And tell me that you love me anyway…" _

Our voices trailed off. There was supposed to be a closing bridge of notes, but I was frozen, staring into Tori's fathomless eyes. She smiled shyly at me.

_Tell her now._ A voice in my mind whispered.

But she suddenly broke eye contact to smile at the cheering restaurant and I quickly turned to do the same. I spotted the owner and the manager clapping frantically. One of them whistled.

Our friends were cheering as hard as they could. I think I even saw Jade crack a smile as she clapped along with the others. I met Beck's eyes and he gave me a knowing grin and a thumbs up. I shrugged at the crowd and motioned to Tori. She really deserved the applause. This song would have gone nowhere without her, both as my singer and my muse. I saw her roll her eyes at me and she pointed at me, garnering a fresh round of applause from the crowd.

"See?" I heard a woman in the audience say to her husband. "That's why this restaurant is so expensive."

I couldn't stop grinning. Getting off the bench, I reached up a hand to help Tori down. She jumped down and slid her arms around me, hugging me tightly. I hugged her back, allowing myself one guilty moment of pleasure as my hand found its way to the back of her head. Her hair was _crazy_ soft, and the scent of strawberries filled my nose.

"Good job, Tor." I whispered into her ear. I felt her shiver at my touch and my heart beat wildly, hope flooding into my chest.

Tori pulled back and smiled, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "You too! That was definitely the best time yet."

"Totally."

We smiled nervously at each other. Then Cat bounded up the side of the stage and flung her arms around us both, effectively ruining the moment.

"You guys were so good!" She squealed.

"Aw, thanks, Lil' Red." I rubbed Cat's head affectionately.

"Yeah, that rocked!" Robbie was beaming at us.

"Fantastic!" chimed Rex.

Beck slid his arm around his girlfriend. "Not bad, guys. Sounded like it came from the heart." He grinned at me. I ignored him.

"I guess it wasn't horrible." Jade shrugged. "Now give me my dress back."

Tori laughed. "Are you sure? I sweat it up something fierce." She glanced down at the dress and waggled her eyebrows at Jade, who winced.

"On second thought, burn it."

While they were distracted by Tori and Jade, I quietly slipped away from my friends towards the outdoor patio. Suddenly, I needed some air.

I was out there, gazing up at the moon, when I heard the door slide open behind me.

"Hey, André, there you are. We're getting ready to go before Robbie orders sixteen more bowls of caviar or something equally ridiculous." Tori grinned at me, leaning on the railing, her wavy hair tumbling down her back. She was still wearing Jade's dress.

_Damn_.

I tore my eyes away from her and looked back up at the moon. The patio was filled with small, couple-y tables, and low lit lanterns. It was incredibly romantic. If there was any a time to tell Tori how I felt, it would definitely be now.

I looked over at her. She was looking up at the moon too. Suddenly, it was all too much— Beck's digs, our song, the mood lighting, the full moon…

"Tori?" I whispered. My voice came out embarrassingly choked.

She glanced at me. "Yes?" Her voice was equally as soft.

"Look, I know this is going to come way out of left field, but…" I stopped as doubts suddenly crashed into my mind. This was so stupid. Out of left field? Try out of freaking outer space! There was no way…

"André? Are you ok in there?" Tori was waving her had in front of my face. She laughed softly.

I think it was the laugh that did it. "Tori, I meant it." The words tumbled from my lips before I could stop them.

She paused, hand in midair. "Meant what?" She looked confused.

"… What I said earlier. Before… before we sang."

Tori's nose scrunched up. "What are you…" Suddenly her eyes widened. "Oh."

"Yeah."

"Wow."

"Yeah."

Silence. _Great idea, André_. I told myself angrily. _Now you're going to have to stop hanging out with her, which means stop hanging out with Beck, Jade, Cat, and Rob, and now you're going to wind up spending your Saturday nights with your paranoid grandmother. _

"…Really?"

I stared down at her. She was looking up at me. A light flush had dusted her cheeks, but there was something else in her eyes. Something akin to… hope?

"Absolutely." I was stunned. How could she possibly believe that I might be lying? "Tori, you're my best friend. You're beautiful, funny, smart, caring…" I shook my head. "I don't know what to do without you around. Seriously, every time you walk into a room, I get this weird feeling in my chest. It's like… well, I don't know what it's like. All I know is that I'm pretty sure that I'm… in love with you." I paused. Her eyes were wide. I felt a hard embarrassed lump form in my chest. "Hey, I mean… I understand if you don't—"

I never got to finish my sentence, because suddenly my arms full of Tori and my lips were quite pleasantly otherwise occupied. I leaned back against the railing and returned her kiss, my head light and euphoric. The only coherent word my mind would allow was _Tori. _Finally, the need for air became prevalent and we pulled apart, breathing hard.

"I…" I stared at her, at her flushed cheeks, her sparkling eyes, and the way they kept flicking back towards my lips. "Really?"

She shook her head at me. "Shut up, André." She growled.

My heart felt light. "We'd, uh… We'd better get back. The others will be wondering…"

"Who cares." Tori pulled me down for another kiss and the others became _a lot_ less important. "How long…?" She asked suddenly, leaning her forehead against mine.

"Trina's showcase." I answered without hesitation. "The day you pretty much saved my life… however much you didn't want to get on stage." I grinned at the memory.

Tori grinned too. "I can't believe it's taken us this long." She murmured. "I didn't think…"

"Hey!"

We turned to find Jade looking pointedly at her watch. "Let's go!" She ordered. "We've been in the van for like, twenty minutes!"

Tori and I exchanged glances.

"Should we tell her?" She whispered. I thought about it.

"Eh, later." I grinned. "Let's see how long it takes them to notice."

Tori slipped her hand into mine. "Lead the way, boyfriend."

"Hm." I squeezed her hand. "Boyfriend. I like the sound of that, girlfriend."

"Good, 'cause I'm gonna be saying it a lot."

"Guys!" Jade marched over to us and grabbed our arms. "For the love of… Would you stop batting your eyes at each other and get in the stupid car already? I have to change…Tori's clothes smell like sweat and ping-pong."

Tori glanced at me and rolled her eyes. I grinned loosely.

As we piled into the van, Tori's hand brushed mine and our fingers interlaced. She leaned against me, her head on my shoulder and closed her eyes. I rested my head on top of hers and closed my eyes too, a light smile on my face.

I fell asleep on that car ride home, drifting into dreams, my heart full of happiness and my nose full of the scent of strawberries.

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**I absolutely didn't intend for the story to end with a confession like that. This just took on a life of its own somewhere near the middle and it was all I could do to type fast enough. :) Anyway, thank you for reading! Please leave me a review, if you're not too busy. I'm a little nervous about how I portrayed the characters. **

**xoxo**

**Allie  
**


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